Post navigation

BREAKDOWN – Did the Nuggets improve or not with Andre Iguodala

The other part of the mega Dwight Howard deal is the Nuggets are trading Aaron Afflalo and Al Harrington and receiving Andre Iguodala. Again the brilliance of the player acquired is his defense. Last year, the 76ers allowed 97.6 pts per 100 possession with Iguodala on the floor and 102.7 when he was on the bench. This difference is one of the highest of any wing player in the NBA.

Aaron Afflalo has the reputation as a good defender however when he was on the floor last year the Nuggets allowed 106.11 and when he was on the bench they allowed 103.6. With Iguodala taking those minutes the Nuggets defense will be considerably better.

On the offensive end, Iguodala used 13 possessions a game and scored at .92 pts per possession (league average is .91). The year prior Iguodala used 15 possessions a game. Denver traded Afflalo who used 14 possessions a night at 1.06 pts per possession. This is a huge step back offensively for the Nuggets. Over 14 possessions that comes out to losing nearly 2 points a game.

Research has shown that a point is worth 2.7 wins so offensively Denver steps back worth 5.4 wins. They will make a lot of that up defensively. However, last year the Nuggets ranked 19th in the NBA defensively and to make up for the offensive decline they will need to move to around 10th and I am not sure they can do that.

The Nuggets also moved Al Harrington who used 15 possessions a night at .95 pts per possession. It is unclear who on the Nuggets roster uses those possessions but most of the choices are not as good offensively.

In conclusion, Iguodala is a game changer defensively, but the Nuggets have taken a huge step backwards offensively.